Ann S. Epstein Writer

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Heart and Salt by Elaina Battista-Parsons (Rating 5) – Grains and Gifts. Heart and Salt by Elaina Battista-Parsons is a collection of stories about young women growing up and into themselves. They test themselves, and others. They tend toward skepticism, and take life with a grain of salt. Yet they have rare moments of pure heart that deliver epiphanies to them and offer gifts to readers. The tales explore the relationships that those on the cusp of adulthood grapple with: finding the “right” romantic partner, making friends who let you be yourself, navigating parental expectations, marking your “place” in the world, be it the Jersey shore or a small New England town. The recurring and well-named character Feather, literally a self-described lightweight, epitomizes this transitional stage. She’s in the middle, unable to commit, never quite belonging wherever she lands. As a fiction writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I appreciate Battita-Parsons’s ability to make readers believe in the characters more than they believe in themselves. Heart and Salt authentically captures the trying years between late girlhood and early womanhood, planting the hope that these seekers will eventually ground themselves and allow their individual talents to shine.

Growing from girlhood to womanhood

Why writers read: “Books are people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.” – E. B. White

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Ella’s War by Rusty Allen (Rating 5) – A Battle of the Heart. Rusty Allen’s unique perspective in Ella’s War sets it apart from other World War Two novels. The story unfolds on the home front, not the battlefield, and a German soldier is a gentle helpmeet, not a feared enemy. In Allen’s sensitive narrative, passion wrestles with patriotism while love confronts loyalty. Like the best historical fiction, harsh facts are softened with tender moments. The tale alternates among four memorable characters. Ella, mother of a young son, struggles to manage the Delaware farm she inherited following her parents’ sudden death. Lee, her common-law husband and the boy’s father, chafes at being tied down but steps up to tend the farm. Reese, their resourceful child, vows to prove his manhood when his father impetuously overrides his Army deferment to enlist. And Dieter, the industrious first mate of a captured U-boat, strives to make amends for his countrymen’s inhumanity. With evocative metaphor, cinematic detail, and absorbing drama, Allen builds toward the book’s moral dilemma. Dieter, a prisoner of war, is assigned to work on the farm. Ella, initially wary, falls in love with him. Then Lee, changed by the wounds of war, comes home, ready to “do right” by Ella, their son, and the farm. Ella is wrenched by the choice she must make. Readers will be torn too. In addition to the main story line, Allen takes readers down lesser known channels of that era, such as the in-fighting between POWs who are hard-line Nazis versus those who don’t share their rabid antisemitism. He also illuminates the wartime challenges of running a farm, racial prejudice, belittling of women, and coming-of-age battles between boys trying to prove who is tougher. As a historical novelist myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I can affirm Allen’s deftness at balancing fact and fiction to simultaneously inform and maintain the narrative’s momentum. The book will engage your mind, rouse your spirit, and shake your emotions. In a conflict without good guys and bad guys, Ella’s War is ultimately a battle of the heart.

A unique perspective on WWII from the home front

Why writers read: “Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” – Malorie Blackman

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (Rating 5) – A Winning Four-Point Shot. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano begins and ends with William Waters, an emotionally blocked basketball player, but the book revolves around the four Padavano sisters, whose family he joins through marriage. The women compare themselves to the March girls in Little Women; they vie for the plum roles and sidestep that of the doomed Beth. One of the many skills in Napolitano’s writing is making readers wonder if, when, and who a Beth equivalent will emerge. The narrative is told from multiple points of view, primarily those of William and the two older sisters (Julia and Sylvia), with later chapters also featuring William and Julia’s daughter Alice. The characters are intricately and distinctively drawn, as is the family solidarity that is greater than the sum of their parts. As a writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admire Napolitano’s talent for allowing readers to see events and the choices they make from multiple perspectives, without passing judgment. She renders a panoply of emotions: joy and grief, emptiness and fulfillment, courage and fear, desire and deadness. The novel shines with love. This capacious book houses a large family with room for more members, readers included.

A book that affirms the life-giving power of love

Why writers read: “A key part of writing is to read good writing, to see how others have done it.” – Carl Phillips